Adaptation
by DreadPirateSephy
Summary: Little snipets of every day life as fearsome warriors become something quite different, but maybe even more heroic. First up, Kyrian. Second at bat, Zarek.
1. Kyrian

Disclaimer: I hold no official claim to anything Dark-Hunter; I'm just talking it for a short walk. Full summary/explanation of origins on my profile, for anyone curious. That being said, read, enjoy, review. Spread the love. :)

**Adaptation**

**Chapter 1: Kyrian**

Ash had warned him that the transition back to mortal and human would be hard; much harder than the transition to Dark-Hunter had been. At the time, he'd thought the leader of the immortal Daimon exterminators had been exaggerating, but even with Amanda there helping him adjust to sunlight and paying taxes, he realized that despite all those years he'd been immortal, he still had no idea how to live. Even after all he'd learned about surviving after those long years, he still had far more to learn about enjoying living. And he was learning most of it the hard way.

Some of his lessons began the day he proposed to Amanda. Lessons like, for example, meeting the in-laws was a much harder and scarier thing when one was mortal and no longer had speedy healing rates and super strength.

Other lessons began his wedding day. Such as just how terrifying a hormonal pregnant woman could be, and that despite what his friends told him, chocolate was not the answer to every problem. Neither was sex.

Before he met Amanda, he would never have foreseen the way his life was about to change. He doubted that even his extremely psychic wife had the ability to foresee the drastic changes that lay in wait in his future.

Other things he learned as he went along, and some things were so different from the life he knew that it shocked him all the way to his newly returned soul.

He didn't know until he became a father that cherry Kool-Aid was far harder to get out of carpet than blood.

He didn't think he'd ever see the day he'd trade in his beloved Lamborghini, least of all for a minivan filled with pink fluffy animals and Disney soundtracks blasting from the stereo.

He had no idea that he would one day fear dirty diapers far more than demigod Daimons.

He never would have guessed that not only would he one day not hate Valerius Magnus, he would actually somewhat, sort of, and never to be admitted out loud, like the poor bastard.

Nor would he ever have thought that the psychotic, exiled Dark-Hunter from Alaska, Zarek of Moesia, would not only _not_ be killed, he had gained his freedom, been made a demigod, gotten married and had a kid, and his latest brother-in-law was present at his table for all major holiday dinners, as was his brother Valerius, and not only were the men all able to get along, but they somehow managed to enjoy each others company. Not that they would ever admit that, not even to their wives. And most especially not to each other.

But the best thing, and the one he had never even dared to hope for, was the bright and smiling faces of his son and daughter that greeted him each morning. He was sure that the other men felt the same, and though they may not be the types to say it, it was clear on their faces and shining in their eyes whenever they looked at their children.

If there was one thing Kyrian Hunter, formerly of Thrace, had learned in his long years as a Dark-Hunter, it was that whenever a situation changed, to survive, you either had to adapt, or die.

And the one thing he'd learned in his short time as a born-again human, it was that if you wanted to do more than just survive, if you wanted to really live, you had to learn to enjoy every moment of everything you did, and make the best of things when they sucked.

So, Kyrian adapted. And you know what? He kind of liked it.


	2. Zarek

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything more than the Dark-Hunter books, and several potential evil ideas for fluffy ways to torture the characters. But nothing legal. Which is probably for the best… Anyway, it's Zarek's turn!! So, read, enjoy, and I'll just shut up now. K? K.

**Adaptation**

**Chapter 2: Zarek**

In his entire existence, no one had ever liked him. Few people could even tolerate him.

And certainly, no one had ever loved him.

No one.

Not until the day a nymph was sent to judge him, and became the first person who didn't. That was the day Zarek touched a star who melted him, frozen heart and all.

But, of course, he would never let anyone but his wife know he was anything but the supreme, unyielding badass they all knew and hated.

Unless Astrid just so happened to be in the room at the time, in which case he would coddle her in a badass kind of way.

Or unless his son wouldn't stop crying, and there were other people around to witness his soft spot for his poor, badly named child. Which was also probably the only point on which he would not give in to his wife's protests. Bob was a much better name than Menecaeus, and there wasn't anything she could say that could convince him otherwise.

The things she did, though, those were a different matter entirely. Though he still wouldn't admit that he liked the name Astrid had given the boy, no matter what. But that didn't mean he wouldn't encourage her…

After all, he had the rest of eternity to make it up to her, even if it had taken him over two thousand years to be able to say those three little, all-too-crucial words. The important thing was, he'd learned.

Hell, he was still learning. Before, that would have terrified him and sent him running screaming in the opposite direction…

Not now. With Astrid's help, he could actually enjoy becoming something other than a former slave who only did what he had to survive. He was learning to become someone who was able to hold his head up, and proudly admit what he thought, what he felt, and what he stood for with out guilt or shame.

He was learning to become someone better.

Now if he could just master making nursery rhymes badass…

And gods help anyone that dare laugh before he does.

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**--And to my anonymous reviewer, here's your reply. ---****Thank you so much for the review! To answer your question, I honestly don't know if all the chapters will be like that one. I think it will depend mostly on who the focus of the chapter is and if dialogue is needed for it then. Thanks for reading! :)**


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